Looking forward to the Tests against the All Blacks, Lions’ coach Warren Gatland said: ‘We’ve got lots of options, we’ve just got to get the right ones.’
Photograph: David Davies/PA

It is impossible to overstate the fresh sense of purpose that has accompanied the entire British & Irish Lions squad south from Christchurch to Otago. Not many sides conquer a strong Crusaders team with something to spare and the result on Saturday had two significant consequences. Not only do these Lions have more belief in themselves but New Zealand’s worst nightmare is in danger of materialising.

From a New Zealand point of view all was relatively normal before the weekend. The touring team had been struggling to make an impression, the local media were in full wind-up mode and the Crusaders and the Highlanders were about to treat their visitors to a double shot of southern discomfort. Suddenly Warren Gatland is on the offensive, even publicly querying the legality of Super Rugby scrummaging, and the mangy, jet-lagged Lions of last week have morphed into completely different animals.

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It is not too much of an exaggeration, listening to some of the whinging about the performance of the French referee, Mathieu Raynal, to suggest sections of the New Zealand rugby community appear rattled. A referee prepared to apply the laws? A hard-nosed away team with decent line speed, aggressive but disciplined forwards and excellent tactical kickers? None of this is remotely illegal but, for some reason, the Lions are now being accused of trampling across the beautiful game.

There was a glorious moment at the press conference in the Lions’ team hotel on Sunday when a Kiwi inquisitor asked Gatland about his team’s meagre return of two tries in three tour matches. “How many have we conceded?” Gatland retorted, quick as a flash. Cue a lot of chin-stroking. These Lions have shipped only four tries in their first 240 minutes in New Zealand yet focusing on that side of the ledger is considerably less popular.

Of course Gatland’s team need to improve their strike rate at some stage but, as Graham Henry observed on radio at the weekend, there is more than one way to win a game of rugby. The beauty, ugly or not, of Saturday was the huge improvement in physicality and forward control that squeezed the Crusaders at source. Keep progressing on both fronts over the next 10 days and the All Blacks will have a stiff challenge on their hands at Eden Park on Saturday week.

The Crusaders, remember, boasted six All Blacks in their pack alone yet, aside from one dominant scrum, trailed in second in most key areas of the game. With slightly more precision the Lions could have scored two or three tries in addition to Owen Farrell’s four penalties. In the back five of the scrum, in particular, Gatland is spoilt for choice. Maro Itoje or Alun Wyn Jones? Peter O’Mahony or CJ Stander? Sam Warburton, Sean O’Brien or Justin Tipuric alongside Taulupe Faletau? With the All Blacks trio of Kieran Read, Dan Coles and Jerome Kaino either sidelined or short of recent rugby, it is far from guaranteed New Zealand will win all the meaningful collisions.

Add to that the ability of Conor Murray and Farrell to pen opponents deep in their own half with judicious kicks out of hand and the Lions really will be tough to beat when their final passes become more accurate and their attacking rhythm improves. “I thought we played some excellent rugby,” said Gatland, refusing to accept the Lions are a negative bunch with little to recommend them. “It’s only the third time in their history the Crusaders have scored only three points in a match and both of the other occasions were away from home. That team’s been together for only a week and this is the sixth hotel we’ve been in since we’ve been in New Zealand. We made 13 line breaks, I didn’t see any negative rugby.”

In terms of the scrums Gatland was similarly bullish: “I felt they had one scrum where they had some ascendancy but on the whole we scrummaged pretty well. I’m a little bit surprised such a huge amount has been made of the scrum. I thought the referee did a good job. If you look at the numbers elsewhere, I thought we dominated in every other area: lineout, territory, possession, carries, line breaks.”

It probably did not help that Monsieur Raynal was the official with the whistle in Chicago when Ireland defeated New Zealand last autumn; either way, the Frenchman’s dislike of the pre-scrum engagement common in Super Rugby did not concern Gatland.

“The law says there must be a small gap but they don’t play to the law of the game. So Super Rugby sides tend to scrummage illegally if that’s the case,” he said. “The scrum’s not going to be a problem for us. I think our scrum will be very strong by the time we come around to Test time.”

Who starts in the Test midfield remains a fascinating debate. For all the promise of the Farrell-Jonathan Sexton axis on Saturday it would be no surprise if Gatland prefers a Farrell-Te’o-Davies combo at 10, 12 and 13, with George North and Liam Williams on the wings and, depending on Stuart Hogg’s fitness, one of Jared Payne, Leigh Halfpenny or Anthony Watson at full-back.

“We’ve got lots of options; we’ve just got to get the right ones,” Gatland said. “I’m sure there will be a lot of difference of opinion in final selection and that’s going to be the challenge for us.” In terms of collective belief, nevertheless, the 2017 Lions grow stronger by the day.